Federal Correctional Institution, Morgantown
 | |
 | |
| Location | Monongalia County, near Morgantown, West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Minimum-security |
| Population | 368 (April 2024) |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
The Federal Prison Camp, Morgantown (FPC Morgantown)[1] is a minimum-security United States federal prison for male inmates in West Virginia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility has been nicknamed 'Club Fed' because of its amenities which include a large college-like campus, a movie theater, a bocce ball court and a basketball court as well as housing many white collar, nonviolent offenders.[2][3]
FPC Morgantown is located in the city of Morgantown in northern West Virginia and approximately 160 miles northeast of Charleston, the state capital.[4]
History
[edit]Senator Ted Kennedy dedicated the Robert F. Kennedy Youth Center in December 1968. The facility was designed to be the first of its kind to test a new method of detention employing an experimental "unit management" model that promoted a humane approach, grouping inmates into units of 50 to 200 overseen by multidisciplinary teams and specialized staff to tend to inmate needs including religious services, training, and counseling and rehabilitation. Less than a decade after opening, the facility transitioned from housing juvenile offenders to adult, male inmates. The name of the facility was later changed to 'Federal Correctional Institution, Morgantown Kennedy Center'[3]
Notable incidents
[edit]In August 2008, 50-year-old Randall Michael pleaded guilty to committing mail fraud while he was an inmate at FCI Morgantown. Michael masterminded a scheme to obtain money by falsely representing himself to potential investors as a wealthy executive who was attempting to obtain a grant requiring a refundable $50,000 bond with which he would purchase approximately 13 acres for $3.9 million for coal exploration. One individual subsequently mailed Michael a check for $26,250 addressed to the false bonding company, which Michael cashed and distributed to members of his own family. Michael was sentenced to an additional 24 months in prison on July 9, 2009.[5]
Notable inmates
[edit]Current
[edit]| Inmate Name | Register Number | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Courtright | 76927-067 | Serving a 7 year sentence. Scheduled for release in 2025. | 30th Mayor of Scranton, convicted on public corruption charges involving bribery, extortion and criminal conspiracy. |
Former
[edit]| Inmate Name | Register Number | Photo | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Ney | 28882-016 | 
|
Released from custody in 2008; served 11 months.[6] | Ohio Congressman from 1995 to 2006; pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and making false statements related to the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal.[7][8] |
| Richard Hatch | 05559-070 | Released from custody in 2009; served 3 years.[9] | Contestant on the CBS television program Survivor in 2000; convicted of tax evasion in 2006 for failing to report income, including $1 million he won on the show and $321,000 he was paid by a Boston radio station.[10][11] | |
| Patrick Cannon | 29396-058 | 
|
Released from custody in 2017; served 22 months.[12] | Mayor of Charlotte, NC from December 2013 to March 2014; pleaded guilty in 2014 to honest services fraud for accepting $50,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as investors in exchange for using his official position to benefit them.[13][14] |
| R. Seth Williams | 75926-066 | _(1).jpg)
|
Served a 5-year sentence; released in 2020. | Former Philadelphia District Attorney; pleaded guilty to one count of bribery.[15] |
| Rick Renzi | 29375-208 | 
|
Released from custody in 2017; served 2 years. | Arizona Congressman from 2003 to 2009; convicted in 2013 of extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering for receiving $1.5 million from a land developer and committing insurance fraud to fund his campaign.[16] |
| Eric Ian Spoutz | 73078-112 | Served a 41-month sentence; released May 2020. | A former art dealer from Michigan; Eric pleaded guilty to selling forged art works from artists such as Picasso, de Kooning, Marc Chagall and Joan Mitchell. Eric was forced to forfeit the $1.45 million he made from the scheme and pay $154,100 in fines. | |
| James Clifton Jr. | 21293-084 | Served a 5-month sentence; released January 2017. | A former Sales Manager for a local Car Dealership and the former Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) Board Chairman who pleaded Guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit program fraud and misprison of a felony. He conspired with other BVU Employees to rig bids on fleet vehicles purchases to ensure his employer was the low bidder. | |
| Walter P. Reed | 34260-034 | Was serving a 4-year sentence; released from custody on October 8, 2021. | Former St. Tammany Parish District Attorney; was convicted of 18 counts of public corruption charges in May 2016.[17] | |
| Happy Asker | 48788-039 | Was serving a 50-month prison sentence; released from custody on August 17, 2018. | President and founder of Detroit-based Happy's Pizza, found guilty of 32 tax crimes and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. The jury took 4.5 hours to convict on 3 counts of filing of false returns for Happy's pizza franchises and one count of engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the administration of the IRS |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "FPC Morgantown". www.bop.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
- ^ James F. McCarty, "West Virginia federal prison in the mountains houses Cuyahoga County's corruption convicts" The Plain Dealer, June 20, 2011
- ^ a b Pam Kasey, "This Is No Country Club; Morgantown’s federal prison pioneered today’s standard model of prison management. Some say the town and prison could pioneer again" WV Living Morgantown, Oct. 7, 2015
- ^ "FCI Morgantown". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
- ^ "Morgantown Resident Sentenced on Mail Fraud Charge". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Pergram, Chad (20 February 2008). "Former Rep. Bob Ney Released From Prison". Fox News. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ "Congressman Robert W. Ney Pleads Guilty to Charges". US Department of Justice. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Associated Press (1 March 2007). "Former Rep. Bob Ney Reports to West Virginia Prison". Fox News. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^ Associated Press (August 2, 2006). "'Survivor' Winner Richard Hatch Now in West Virginia Prison". Fox News. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ "Survivor Winner To Plead Guilty". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "'Survivor' Hatch gets 51 months in prison". NBC News. Associated Press. 19 May 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ Gordon, Michael (November 18, 2014). "Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon enters West Virginia prison". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ "Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick D. Cannon Sentenced to 44 Months in Prison". Federal Bureau of Investigation. October 14, 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ Gordon, Michael (November 18, 2014). "Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon enters West Virginia prison". The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ "Philadelphia District Attorney Rufus Seth Williams Pleads Guilty To Federal Bribery Charge". www.justice.gov. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ "Former Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi convicted on 17 of 32 counts in corruption case". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 June 2013.[dead link]
- ^ "Once powerful DA Walter Reed now inmate No. 34260-034". 17 May 2019.
